


Revenge

by Nadia_Jayne



Category: In the Flesh (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-10
Updated: 2014-10-23
Packaged: 2018-02-16 20:45:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2283936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nadia_Jayne/pseuds/Nadia_Jayne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Someone else has taken over his temporary guard position. And this time, it isn’t Phillip. It's a blonde girl, dressed in black and pale blue. And Kieren has never seen her before...</p><p>The title is based from the 30 Seconds to Mars song, Revenge - NOT a hint of what is to come (maybe - I haven't gotten that far yet)</p><p>Involves major character death that brought forth all the tears.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The New Girl

**Author's Note:**

> Hola! So this is my first fic - yes, I'm a newbie, and only recently introduced to the ITF fandom. Sorry if this turns out really bad... :/
> 
> Please leave me some reviews, maybe with some suggestions too? Thanks :D

Kieren wanders through the graveyard, following a path he has followed so very many times, pulling flowers off stray bushes and grasping them in his clenched fist. This is what he dreads for the day, and is grateful for when he is there. This is what he needs. Alone. Without Simon this time.  
He is too intent on finding the perfect flowers, of figuring out just what to say this time, that he doesn't realise someone else is there. Someone else has taken over his temporary guard position. And this time, it isn’t Phillip. It's a blonde girl, dressed in black and pale blue. And Kieren has never seen her before.  
As he approaches, a twig snaps under his boot-clad foot and he freezes, waiting for her to turn and blame him or run. Instead, she stays still and begins to sway, murmuring words under her breath. As Kieren approaches, he realises she is singing.

_So stop praying for disaster_   
_And betting you will fail_   
_You've got to believe_   
_Get up and be free_   
_Got to prepare for survival_   
_Cause surrender isn’t going to come_   
_Tonight_   
_Tonight_   
_Oh tonight_

As she finishes, Kieren realises he has been smiling, begins to wonder how long for, and completes his journey toward Amy’s grave. The girl stays still, her head now immersed in a book, until Kieren clears his throat and places his flowers at the base of the headstone. Only then does she look up, give a small smile, and return to her reading. Kieren almost feels awkward, being here with a girl he doesn't know. He turns to leave, only walking several paces when he hears a voice from behind him.  
“You don't have to leave, Kieren,”  
He turns back, expecting to see the girl’s back again, only to find her standing and smiling at him.  
He furrows his eyebrows, replying with “How do you know who I am?”, and waits for a response.  
She barks out a short laugh, shakes her head, and responds while rummaging through her bag. “I suppose she wouldn't have talked to you about me. Avoiding her previous life as much as possible, as per usual,”. Having found what she was looking for, she walks toward Kieren, pulling a photo from a small bag as she approaches. Kieren takes an involuntary step backward, caution overriding his mind.  
She stops, raising an eyebrow, shakes her head, and puts her hands up in surrender. “I’m not going to hurt you, dum-dum,”  
Those two words shake Kieren. She smirks when she sees his facial expression, one side of her face upturned in a smile, the other showing defiance to follow suit. “Finally, Sherlock figures it out!” She takes several steps forward, leaving a metre between herself and Kieren, and holds out the photograph. Kieren can only stare open-mouthed, until she takes a step forward and pushes his chin up, closing his mouth with a sharp snap. “There are easier ways to catch flies, Kieren,” She steps back, leaving the metre distance between them, and holds the photograph out again. This time, Kieren takes it. His eyes widen, flicking up to glance at the girl, then down again to look at the photo, comparing what he sees to what is in front of him.


	2. The Photo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The girl explains how she knows Amy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the long gap between uploads :/ Between hospital visits, funerals, chores, housework, homework and school, I haven't really had time. And whatever spare time I have had, I've been using to write this :) Sorry about the shortness too. I hated everything else I wrote.  
> I will try very hard to upload within a week of the previous one ^_^
> 
> (REALLY sorry if it's bad, btw :/ )

“That was our trip to Australia,” she explains, her eyes shooting down as she remembers. “Mum and Dad wanted us to become ‘travelled’, or something. But then Amy got sick. I distanced myself from my parents, and got closer to Amy – not that we weren’t already close. We were near inseparable, but when she got sicker, I just… I don't know, I guess I depended on her more for my sanity.”  
Kieren stills, realising where her story was leading, and dreading the end of it.  
“Amy told me one day that she thought she wasn't going to make it through that night – and I guess she was right. But I refused to leave her bed that night. I didn't leave the hospital, and I stayed there with her. I found here the next morning,” She stops, swallowing hard and holding back tears. Kieren lightly touches her shoulder, trying to soothe her and help her continue. She nods, takes a deep breath, and starts again. “When they announced it, I felt empty. I felt like there was no point in me being here anymore. So I ended it. All the pain, all the feelings, all the memories, I released them all like butterflies out of a jar. When I rose, I found that my parents hadn’t even had a proper ceremony for me. Not like they did with Amy. I died at the bottom of the hill in the backyard, and I rose there too. Lucky for them, they weren’t home. I remember wandering for a year, unsure of where I was going, but always going alone. I ended up in Roarton. Don’t know how I survived. Your sister shot me in the shoulder though,” She chuckles at that, and looks down at the floor. “I don't think you’d remember me though. I don't think she would either. I was… different. Not like myself. I guess I’m still not myself”  
Kieren glances up at that, confusion on his face. “What do you mean, ‘still not yourself’? You can be who you were, this is a second chance to do what you wanted, to live a normal life,”  
She smiles, her brow knitted with disbelief. “You speak with such conviction, Kieren. I wonder though, do you remember? Do you remember everything we did? Do you really believe that we are the same as we were before all that?” She smiles gently, seeing the open, honest look on his face, turns and walks away. It is only then that Kieren looks down at the photo again.  
He smiles at what he sees. Amy and the girl, arms wrapped tightly around each other, grins plastered to their sun-bathed faces, the cotton-topped waves of the ocean part way through their lazy retreat in the san-covered background. Kieren can almost smell the salty tang of the seaweed, feel the icy-coldness of the water upon his skin, and bask in the absolute joy captured in a single frame. He turns to Amy’s grave, his smile still plastered on his face, and reminds her, yet again, why she lived.  
“You are so lucky to have her, Amy.”


	3. Research

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kieren finds out more about the girl.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy crap, I decided to be productive. This NEVER happens, by the way (my friends can vouch for that).  
> Hopefully, this isn't too bad :/ If I screwed up with anything, please comment!

Kieren meanders through the backstreets and alleyways of Roarton, pondering what the girl had said to him. He remembers when Rick left him, remembers feeling hopeful that he would return, and feeling hopeless when they said he wasn’t. He felt numb for weeks, before he couldn’t take the numbness any longer. He remembers seeing their carving on the roof – “Rick + Ren 4 ever’ – and hoping that forever included the afterlife as he felt his life fade, remembers feeling panic kick in seconds before he left, presumably forever. He knows what that girl felt. And only then does it occur to him that he doesn’t know her name. He turns back, heading for the cemetery again, desperate to find the girl’s name and finally put together a piece of Amy’s life. He runs, wishing and hoping that the girl will still be there when he arrives. But he is too late. He darts around the final corner, arriving only to see a dent in the soil where she sat. He looks around, eyes darting into every shadowed crevice, every doorway, every window, and seeing nothing. He weaves his way between the other gravestones, refusing to believe that she has left. Every second pushes him to accept that she has left. He goes back to Amy’s grave, lays his hand on the top, then sits and brushes off the dirt from the base. He traces each letter with his little finger, saying them separately and slowly in his mind. He may draw it later, but for now, he has to leave. He says his final goodbye for the day, rises, and leaves for home.  
He thinks that he won’t be accepted as he normally is, for some reason, as he walks down the steep driveway toward his home. He opens the door, finding it unusually unlocked, and smells the warm scents of dinner bursting through the front door. He walks in, calling to his mother who hums as she turns through the kitchen throwing careful measures of assorted herbs, spices and vegetables into a bubbling pot. Kieren gently plants a swift kiss on her cheek and continues toward the family computer. He pulls the chair out and pushes it to the side, choosing instead to lean against the desk on his elbows, and types in the key words for what he wants to know:

**Roarton Deaths 2009 – Dyer**

He finds the website that lists them all, all of the risen, all of the ‘Redeemed’ as Amy and Simon both called them, He finds Amy, and directly beneath, another Dyer. He clicks on this one.  
He is immediately shown a face that looks unfamiliar. She has bright green-blue eyes that crinkle at the edges, though the photo shown doesn’t show any hint of a smile. She seems to almost be scowling at the camera, and only then does Kieren realise she is wearing an unfamiliar school uniform. Her dark brown – almost black – hair pokes out in opposite directions, completely oblivious to the hair tie that intends to hold it in a tight braid. Her skin is spotted with angry red spots, and her eyes have dark smudges underneath, almost as if she had been crying moments before. Kieren clicks to the next photo before he can ponder her reasons for crying.  
The next photo shows a close-up of the girl pouting, the edges of her mouth curling in a barely-restrained smile as she tries to force it back. Her eyes are more blue than green in this photo, though it is obvious that it is the same girl. This photo seems to be from earlier than the previous one. The girl looks healthy and happy in this photo. Kieren looks into the background, pulls the photo he now carries his back pocket, and holds it next to the one shown on the screen. They match.  
He clicks to the next one, and freezes. The girl is in all black, with mascara trailing down her cheeks as she reaches out to place a single white rose on an oak coffin. The next shows the girl standing on a pedestal, her mouth open, eyes red, and arms wrapped tightly to a wooden photo frame. Even without animation or movement, Kieren can see her hands shaking, can feel her legs about to give way, and knows that the photo frame is the only thing keeping her tethered to the earth and to life. He closes the window, scrolls down, and finds the girls information.

**Name: Katherine Dyer**   
**Age: 17 (now 22)**   
**Status: Partially Deceased**   
**Location: unknown**   
**Family:**   
**Sister - Amy Dyer (deceased)**   
**Mother – Mary-Anne Dyer (deceased)**   
**Father - Stephen Dyer (deceased)**

Kieren closes the browser, turns off the computer screen, and paces along the width of the room, digesting all the information he has just gathered. He climbs the stairs, hesitating in front of Jem’s room, thumping with bass, then turns and enters his own room. He grabs a small bag, throws in his clothes, keys, phone, contacts, and mousse, then closes the door again, turns down the hallway, and walks out the front door. He almost jogs to the Bungalow, turns the final corner and walks through the gate at the back end. He arrives at the door, fumbles for his keys, and hears the door open for him. The door opens, and Simon, with his slicked-back hair, off-white eyes and oversized jumper appearing behind the door, folds him into a comforting and welcoming embrace.


	4. Cleanse me, my dear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kieren and Simon have a moment. Or three.

Kieren holds the embrace for longer than usual, inhaling Simon’s subtle scent of mothballs and cologne. He holds on like Simon is his only connection to the world. Because Kieren feels as through he is. Simon soothes Kieren with long, gentle strokes from the crown of his head to the centre of his shoulder blades, murmuring calm nothings through lips pressed to Kieren’s forehead. When Kieren sniffles, Simon pulls back to cup his jawline with both hands and press a gentle, lingering kiss to his lips. Kieren settles into Simon’s neck, breathing deep and slow, revelling in the moment before pulling back. He wordlessly grabs Simon’s hand and leads him to the loungeroom, brushing his free hand along photo frames containing precious photos of Amy and them to remove what little dust had gathered. He sits on the double-seater couch, and Simon settles next to him, pulling Kieren into his lap before allowing Kieren to tell Simon everything. He sits, listens, and holds Kieren for support. He doesn’t speak, not until Kieren finishes his recount, wiping tears of frustration from his eyes.

“So she has no family any more?” is all that he says. Kieren pivots in his seat, briefly catching the look of pain darting across Simon’s face at the movement, and realises that he and the girl – Katherine, he reminds himself – have more in common than Kieren does with her. Or Simon, for that matter. For the hundredth time that week, Kieren wonders why Simon is with him. And immediately banishes the thought as Simon gently cups his face and kisses him with such ferocity and passion that Kieren would have been breathless if he had needed the air.

*******

Simon opens his eyes, blinking steadily for a few moments before turning his head to the side and smiling at Kieren’s sleeping face. He carefully sits to avoid waking his boyfriend, rubbing his hands along the sides of his own face to wake himself up and realises he is still completely naked. Simon twists as he stands, pulling the blankets up to Kieren’s mid-back, instead of behind his knees. As Simon reaches over to do this, Kieren stirs, turning to his back and lifting one hand to drape it across his eyes. The other hand reaches over to Simon’s side of the bed, feeling around and eventually stilling where Simon was just moments ago. Simon smiles, eyes wandering along the naked body of his boyfriend, and wondering how he walks without breaking those toothpick-thin legs. He pulls the blankets up, planting a kiss to Kieren’s forehead, gathers his clothes, and leaves for the bathroom. He dresses slowly and methodically, and begins to do something he hasn’t done for months.

He puts on the mousse and contacts. 

Once he is finished, he stares at his reflection, imagining he is looking at who he used to be. He clenches his fist, wanting to turn away, but forcing himself to keep looking. Forcing himself to accept what he has done - what he has become. Finally, he can no longer stand it. He leaves the room, walking toward his bedroom again and walking in on Kieren rising from the bed. As Kieren looks up, his eyes widen, jaw loosens, and his face softens. Simon recognises this look, and smiles. He hands the wet flannel he carried from the bathroom to Kieren, looking into his eyes with a silent question. Kieren turns Simon gently, pushing him backward until he is sitting on the bed with Kieren standing before him. He kneels, lifts the flannel toward Simon’s face, and stills. He looks at Simon, ensuring that he wants him to do this, and strokes the flannel along his cheek when he gets a gentle nod. Kieren continues this ritual he knows all too well, repeating the order of what he cleans. Cheeks, chin, nose, upper lip, forehead, eyes, ears, neck. When he finishes, Simon closes his eyes, leans his forehead against Kieren’s and sighs deeply. It is only then that Kieren realises that this is a kind of cleansing for him. He tips his chin up and presses his lips against Simon’s wet cheek. Simon turns his head, pressing his lips against the corner of Kieren’s mouth, and grabs his hands. Their eyes meet, and finally Simon speaks.

“Thank you, you incredible, beautiful creature.”  



End file.
